More than five decades ago, Deborah Crosby was told that her father’s plane had been shot down in Vietnam. He was presumed dead, but his body had not been found.
Then a first-grader, Deborah made it her mission to bring Lt. Cmdr. Frederick P. Crosby home, where he could be buried in his hometown of San Diego.
So began decades of waiting and searching.
Then finally, one year ago, military investigators found Frederick Crosby’s remains.
On May 26, his body in an American flag-draped casket, arrived at San Diego International Airport. The Crosby children embraced each other as they received the casket.
“I’m just overwhelmed with seeing the plane drive up and all of the uniforms and all of the respect and the honors that he’s receiving, I, it’s just … it’s overwhelming,” said Deborah.
On Sunday, Frederick Crosby will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with full military honors and a Navy flyover.
The U.S. military actively searches for missing service members. According to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, 969 missing service members have been accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, while the whereabouts of 1,611 remain a mystery.
Frederick Crosby’s remains were eventually found in a fishpond in Thanh Hoa Province. Also found were pieces of fabric from his uniform, his chrome lighter and wedding band.
“It’s nice to be able to let out the tears and to have some relief in our hearts. And now we’re able to talk about it. Before we didn’t talk much about this and now we can talk proudly and we have you know a happier ending and we can visit my dad’s gravesite,” said Deborah.
